Yule Balls and Tactlessness
by Shalli-Ackleton
Summary: Hermione needs a date for the Yule Ball her fourth year. Who will she ask? And what is Ron's reaction? Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JKR...not me.
1. Tactless!

Disclaimer: All Harry potter things belong to the lovely JKR...not me.

It had been just another day in Transfiguration. Both of my best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley , weren't paying any attention to what McGonagall was saying. They were having a swordfight with some of the fake wands that Fred and George had made. The fake wands were somewhat impressive - and that was just one of their many practical joke creations. They had such a talent with magic, but they never applied it unless it was at someone else's expense. After I had copied down the question for today's homework, I tried to elbow Ron to get him to pay attention. The only thing I succeeded at was to make his fake wand's beak fall off. McGonagall stood behind her desk and was glaring at the two of them with her arms crossed. She cleared her throat to get their attention, but it was to no avail. I jabbed Ron in the ribs and hissed, "Pay attention!"

Harry and Ron both glanced up to the front and saw that McGonagall had pursed her lips in disapproval. They let their fake wands drop to the floor and their faces were tinged pink with embarrassment. "Since Potter and Weasley have decided to pay attention thanks to Miss Granger, I have an announcement to make." She strode around to the front of her desk, facing the class. "There has been an age old tradition that has been of the Triwizard Tournament since the beginning. It will give you an opportunity to make new friends from our visiting schools and to be footloose and fancy free. Hogwarts will be hosting a Yule Ball!"

The classroom erupted into whispers until McGonagall raised her hand for silence. "There are two rules to this ball. Rule number one: No one under the fourth year is able to go to the ball unless they are asked by an older student. Rule number two: Dress robes must be worn for both boys and girls. The Yule Ball will take place on Christmas Day at 8 p.m. and go until midnight." The bell rang, cutting her off. "Potter! A word please."

Ron and Harry exchanged worried looks. I rolled my eyes and dragged Ron out the door. "He's going to get in trouble for having the fake wand fight with me!" he said, glancing back at the door.

"I'm sure it's got nothing to do with that."

"But how can you be so sure?"

"Haven't you ever read anything about this tournament?" I asked exasperatedly. He gave me a blank stare."Harry has to dance first with someone during the Yule Ball. That's the tradition when you're one of the champions."

Ron started to chortle and said, "Harry? Dance? With a girl?"

"Yes, Ronald, a girl." Harry bustled out the door looking rather annoyed. "You need a dance partner, don't you?" I asked Harry.

His pale face flushed. "I suppose. But I don't want to ask anyone, and I don't want to go!"

"You make it sound worse than going to the dentist!" Ron looked at me quizzically. "Never mind. Do you have anyone in mind to ask?" I asked nonchalantly. I knew Ginny would really want to go with H, but she would be too shy to ask him.

He shrugged and Ron said, "I have no idea who on earth I should ask either." My cheeks turned slightly pink. "Anyone in particular?" I asked.

"Nah." He thought for a moment. "Maybe someone from Beauxbatons. I just love the way they walk..." A dreamy expression came over Ron's face. I snorted. Of course that was his reason. No reason for him to see what was right in front of him! No...not at all. "What about you, Hermione?" Harry asked me.

Ron snorted. "Hermione? With a guy? No way."

"Yes, Ronald, with a guy," I snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, I am a girl."

"Obviously -" Ron started.

I heard Harry sigh, and I said, "I'm so sick of you!" and stormed off towards the Common Room.

I went up to the girl's dormitories and found Ginny sitting on her bed, flicking through the latest edition of Witch Weekly. "What's up?" she asked.

"Your brother is getting on my nerves."

She closed her magazine and frowned. "What has he done this time?"

"I don't know... We were talking about the Yule Ball and then he mentioned something about how the Beauxbatons girls walked and..."

"I see." Ginny smirked at me.

"Why are you smirking like that at me?"

"I think I know something that you have yet to realize."

I narrowed my brown eyes at her. "Which is...?

"You like my brother."

My jaw dropped. "What?! That's...that's..no! That's insane! It's a completely mad idea!"

"It's obvious to everyone but you and Ron. And possibly Harry. Plus, you're very defensive about it."

"Defensive? I am not - "

She sighed. "Face it, Hermione. It's not the worst thing in the world. You could like someone else...like Cedric Diggory or someone."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "He's a seventh year. There's a bit of an age difference."

"It's not like that's a big deal," Ginny said, her cheeks turning red.

"A year difference isn't that bad," I said, referring to the age difference between her and Harry. "Three years is a bit much."

She shrugged and sat up on her bed. "At least you can go to the dance even if you don't have a date. I can't go unless I get asked by someone older." She paused for a moment playing with her red hair. "Here's an idea! Why don't you ask Ron to the dance?"

I stared at her like she had a snitch zooming around her head. "There is NO way I am asking him! Besides, I don't even like him!" She raised her eyebrows at me skeptically. "Why don't you take your own advice and ask Harry to the Ball?"

"Because I know he doesn't like me like that!" she snapped, standing up a few inches away from my face. "He likes Cho Chang. To him I'm nothing more than his best friend's little sister he saved from the basilisk two years ago."

Right. Now I felt like an absolute moron. "Sorry Gin. I didn't mean..."

"Whatever." She turned to sit back on her bed and wrenched her bed curtains shut. I know I always accuse Ronald of being tactless, but sometimes I was just as bad as he was. I walked over to my bed and emptied out my book bag. I slung the empty bag over my shoulder and stalked out of the dormitory. I felt like such an idiot.


	2. Enter Victor Krum!

Chapter 2

I let my feet take me wherever they wanted me to go. Five minutes later I realized that I was headed to my favorite place. The library! I passed by Harry on my way, but he didn't seem to notice. He was staring at Cho Chang who was surrounded by her normal group of gossipy, giggly girls. I don't understand what he liked so much about her. She was definitely pretty, I'll give her that. But she was popular and she was one of the biggest gossips. Too bad he didn't notice Ginny.

When I arrived at the library, I looked everywhere for an open table. The only table that looked remotely peaceful had the famous Bulgarian Quidditch player, Victor Krum, sitting at it. I decided to wait for an open table and looked for something interesting to read.

Ten minutes later, I started to wander over to the tables with _Hogwarts, A History_ in my hands. Victor Krum was still sitting at the only free table. I could hear some girls giggling behind the bookshelves near the table. Today was just not my day. Shaking my head, I walked over to his table and pulled out the chair furthest away from him. I had hoped this would have been quiet, but the chair legs scraped loudly on the floor. It made the whole library quiet. Victor Krum looked up at me. "Sorry," I said, a hot blush creeping onto my cheeks. I opened up _Hogwarts, A History_ to a random page and started to read. I stared down at the words hoping they would take my mind off of things, but my mind decided to stay stuck on my tactless-ness with Ginny. I gave up five minutes later and slammed the book shut.

"Rough day?" he asked me.

I looked up, shocked he was talking to me. "What?"

"I vas asking if you had a bad day."

"Oh. Yes, I am."

After an awkward pause, he said, "Vat happened, if I may ask?"

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Vell, yes. I asked you, didn't I?"

"Yule Ball Drama. Plus I just had a fight with one of my best friends."

He nodded his head slowly. "I know how that goes."

"We were just told today that we needed to get a date and both of my friends are just so...tactless. And I was incredibly tactless with my other best friend..."

He nodded once. "I see."

"Sorry. It's just been an awful day." I stared down at the book on the table and glanced over to see what he was reading. He noticed and said "I am reading a book on the history of Durmstrang. Ve really don't haff a history book on our castle."

"Oh, really? I don't think I could survive without the library."

"So you uh...You come in here often?" he asked.

"Yes. It's my favorite place to think and relax."

"So the chances of you coming back tomorrow are quite good?"

"I'm in here at some point every day. I have a defense against the dark arts essay that I'll be working on. I really don't like it much."

"Vat is it about?" he asked.

"The Unforgivable Curses, specifically the Imperious Curse."

"Vould you like some help vith your essay? Ve studied those last year."

"Oh. Um..."

"I vill be here in the evening after dinner. Meet at 7?"

"Sure." He stood up and walked over by me. "Vat is your name?"

"Hermione Granger," I replied, holding my hand out for him to shake. Instead he kissed me on the back of the hand.

"See you then, Herm-oh-ninny," he said, slouching off towards the exit.

As calmly as I could, I put my book back in my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I walked slowly towards the exit and started to power walk to the girls' dormitories. After I entered the portrait hole, I could hear Ron and Harry engaged in an intense game of wizard's chess. "That's totally barbaric you know," I said.

"But that's how the game works!" said Harry.

"You just like it now 'cause you're winning," Ron muttered.

I shook my head at the pair of them and continued my journey up to the girls dormitories. I opened the door and Ginny was digging for something in her trunk. "Gin, I need to talk to you," I said.

"Huh?" she asked. She resurfaced and banged her head on the lid. "OW!"

I bit back a laugh and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry about me snapping earlier I-"

"No worries. Besides, I have something rather interesting to tell you."

"What?"

"Well..." I trailed off, sitting on my bed.

"Oh just tell me!" she exclaimed, plopping on my bed next to me. "Did someone ask you to the ball?"

"No. But I had a lovely conversation with someone. You'll never guess who."

"Malfoy?" I threw my pillow at her. "I'll take that as a no. Just tell me!"

"Victor Krum."

Ginny's jaw dropped. "No. Way. What's he like?"

"He's a really nice guy. We had a good conversation, and he asked if I wanted help on Professor Moody's essay."

"And you're going to let him help you?" she asked me incredulously. I never ask for help on my homework.

I nodded. "He kissed me on the back of the hand when he left."

We both started giggling like crazy. "Oh Hermione! This is fantastic!" she said after she caught her breath.

"I know." I glanced at the clock which read 5:30. "We should probably get going to dinner."

Both of us went down the stairs giggling. Harry and Ron approached us warily. "It always scares the bloody hell out of me when you two come down the stairs giggling like that. It makes me think that you're laughing at me," said Ron.

Ginny smirked at her brother. "And just _what_ would give you any reason to think we would talk about _you_?"

His freckled face flushed and he didn't say anything. "Besides," I said, staring into his blue eyes, "I don't think you'd be worth talking about." I could have sworn I saw hurt flash in his eyes. "Anyways, let's go to dinner."


	3. Eavesdropping is always a bad idea

Dinner was rather awkward. Ron didn't say anything during dinner. He was staring at his shepherd's pie and poking it with his fork. Harry looked over at Ron and said, "Are you alright?"

He blinked rapidly as if jerking out of a daydream. "Wha? Oh yeah. I'm fine, just not that hungry."

I said, "You're always hungry."

"Just one of my many faults, isn't it?" he snapped at me.

"Ron,I -"

"Shut up, Hermione!" He pushed away his shepherd's pie and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"What was that all about?" I asked Harry.

"Don't worry about it. Ron's just being...Ron."

Well that was helpful. Ginny came over to us and sat down. "What did you do to Ron? He didn't even touch his pie!"

"I dunno," Harry said.

"He snapped at me about it being one of his 'many faults.'"

"What did you do?" Ginny asked me.

"I don't know!" I said.

"Ron's been rather touchy ever since the Yule Ball announcement in Transfiguration class," said Harry. "He's never been like this..."

"There's only one way for me to figure this out," said Ginny. "Is there any way that you could convince Ron to play a little Quidditch?"

Harry shook his head no. A horrible mischievous smile a lit my face. "Ron does Wizard's Chess when he's stressed, yeah?"

"Why?"

Ginny's smile suddenly matched mine. "You could easily persuade him to play a game or two and try to figure out what's wrong."

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Um..."

Ginny leaned forward and stared intently into his green eyes. "Please? I know he won't talk to me about anything, but you're his best friend. I know he'll talk to you."

Harry stuttered, "Wh-wh-what?" He shook his head as if to clear it. "Sorry, didn't catch that."

"You get Ron to vent a little bit during Wizard Chess and he'll feel all better."

"It's not that simple, Hermione. You know how he can be like this," Harry said.

"Says you," Ginny said. "Look…Ron can never say no to chess. Plus, we won't be anywhere where we could hear him. Right, Hermione?" she said nudging me.

I sighed dramatically. "No. Besides, I have Professor Moody's essay to work on anyways."

"Fine. As long as you promise to be nowhere within the hearing vicinity," Harry said.

"Of course," Ginny said sickeningly sweet voice. Then she said, "Come on, Hermione. I need help with a potions essay."

"Okay," I said. When we got out of the Great Hall, I asked, "What's the plan?"

"Harry thinks were going to be working on a Potions Essay. But we are going to venture where no girl has been before."

"Why would we go into the boy's dormitory?"

"Harry won't know we can hear if we're invisible."

My jaw dropped. "Ginevra Molly Weasley! We can't _steal_ Harry's cloak!"

"It wouldn't be stealing! Just borrowing it. We need to find out what the heck is wrong with my brother. I think it could be classified as an emergency."

"I don't know Gin…" In fact, the whole idea wasn't sitting right with me.

"Oh come on, Hermione! Live for once!"

I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "What's that's supposed to mean?"

"You always go by the rules. Let's bend them a bit!"

"Fine. Just this once," I said. She grabbed my hand and we ran all the way to the Fat Lady outside the Gryffindor Common Room. "Balderdash!" I said to the Fat Lady.

She opened her portrait and we tiptoed inside. Ron was sitting in front of the fire with his eyes glazed over. Ginny pressed her index finger against her lips and we snuck past him. We got all the way up the stairs and to the door before we made a sound.

"Ready?" Ginny whispered to me, her hand on the door handle. I nodded and started giggling. When we opened the door, we expected a wall of horrid smell to hit us. However, it didn't have a rotten smell. Ginny walked in first, trying to figure out which trunk was Harry's. I followed her in and started to look around. It looked just like our dormitory. It had twenty beds with maroon colored curtains surrounding it, a stone floor covered with gold and maroon rugs, and a ten foot window facing the north side of the castle.

"Psst!" she whispered to me. She was standing over a trunk with the initials HP labeled on it. I joined her by the trunk and I bent over to open it. I lifted the lid and saw a mess of a trunk. The invisibility cloak was right on the top. I grabbed it and gently closed the lid. "Ready?" Ginny whispered. I nodded and threw the cloak over the both of us. We both left the boys' dormitory and went into the Common Room. Harry wasn't back from the Great Hall yet, so we went by the far corner of the room.

Five minutes later, Harry came in. "Hey Ron, d'you want to play some chess?"

"Huh?" he said, jerking out of a reverie.

Harry looked at him as if he was barfing slugs. "Chess?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure. We left the chess set upstairs." Harry nodded once and went upstairs to go get it. When he came back down, chess set in hand, he asked, "Have you seen my invisibility cloak?"

Ginny and I looked at each other and nearly burst out giggling. "Nope,  
Ron said. "Last time I saw it was folded up in your trunk. Maybe ask Hermione," Ron suggested. Harry walked over to couch and began to set up the board. They were halfway into their game when Harry said, "You alright?" Ron shrugged. "You barely ate anything at dinner." He shrugged again. "Knight to E5," Ron said.

Ron's knight began to beat up Harry's queen mercilessly. "What do you reckon we do about the Yule Ball?" Harry asked.

"I dunno…I was going to ask someone from Beauxbaton's, but I get too tongue tied to say anything."

"Well, you could ask someone in Gryffindor," Harry said.

"But who would _want_ to go with us?" Ron asked.

How blind are you? my mind screamed at him. "Well," Harry paused. "What about Lavender Brown?"

Ginny looked at me with a look that said _Really?_ "I heard she's going with someone else," Ron said.

"What about…hmm…"

"Fred and George said that all the good ones will be gone by the time that we figured out who we wanted to take."

Harry sighed. "Pawn to F2."

"I have an idea!" Ron said suddenly, almost upsetting the chess board. "What if you asked Cho Chang and I asked one of her friends?"

"I think Cedric was planning on asking her. I overheard him when I was on my way back from the Great Hall."

"Oh." Ron paused for a moment and said, "Pawn to F2."

"Who else can we ask?" Harry asked, watching the two pawns wrestling each other.

"Well, there's always Hermione," Ron said, his face flushing red.

"Then why don't you ask her?" Harry said.

"I don't know…" he said, trailing off.

"Would you be mad if someone else asked her?" he asked.

"What? Why would you say that?" he asked, his freckled face turning red.

"I don't know. She's probably been asked already."

Ron laughed. "No way! She's probably waiting for one of us to ask her. Well, I'm not going to."

"Why not?"

"Look, if I can't get anyone from Beauxbaton's, then I'll just ask her."

"But what if she has been asked already?" Harry asked.

"Do you know something I don't?" Ron asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Like what?" Harry asked innocently.

"_Has_ she been asked to the ball or not?" Ron asked angrily.

"What's the big deal? It's just Hermione," Harry said.

"I know, but I wouldn't want her to go with some loser. But the guy who probably asked her was desperate!"

"What is wrong with you?" Harry asked. Ron blushed and said nothing. Then it clicked. "You like Hermione!" he said.

"WHAT?" Ron yelled. "Where the bloody hell did you get that from?"

"Oh come on, isn't it obvious?" Harry asked. He took the chess set off the couch and placed it on the table. "I'm one of the thickest guys here when it comes to this, and even _I_ noticed."

"You know what? I'm going to bed!" He got off the couch and went into his dorm. Ginny and I looked at each other under the cloak with shock written all over our faces. All the sudden someone snatched the cloak from us. "So that's where that went," Harry said, glaring at the pair of us.


	4. Boys will be boys, I guess

"What the bloody hell were you two thinking?" Harry asked us.

"Oh come on! We needed to know," Ginny said. "Besides, what's the worst thing that can happen?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at us. "It was all Ginny's idea," I said, my eyes staring at the floor.

"Oh _thanks_ Hermione," Ginny said.

"Look, I'm sorry we eavesdropped," I said. "You have your cloak now and I'm going to bed. Let's go, Ginny."

We both headed up to the girls' dormitory. In all honesty, I was trying to process what just happened. On the one hand, I'm 99% sure that Ron likes me. However, he didn't want to ask me. He wanted to ask someone from Beauxbaton's. He would only ask me as a last resort. By the time I sat down on my bed, I was really upset. "Why did we listen to that?" I asked Ginny

"What are you talking about?" she said.

"Oh come on, Gin. He would only ask me as a last resort."

"No he wouldn't. He would never treat a girl like that," Ginny said. "Besides, he would never hear the end of it from Mum or me."

"Then why would he say something like that?"

"Because he's a dumb boy that's in denial about how he feels. He's never really liked girl before."

I sighed. "Well, I don't want to go with him anyways."

"What?"

"Why would I want to go with someone who would only ask me as a last resort? I'll just find someone to go with, that's all."

"Oh come on, Hermione! Just-…"

"I'm going to bed," I snapped. I didn't want to hear her defenses for her brother. I flopped on my bed and wrenched my curtains around my bed shut. Of course she would defend her brother. My angry thoughts kept swirling around in my mind until I fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I went to breakfast alone. I was halfway through my toast when I saw Ron and Harry walking over towards me. They both sat across from me and said, "Morning."

"Morning. Sleep well?" I asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. "As well as I could with Ron's snoring."

"I heard you and Ron had a fight last night."

Ron shrugged. "It's fine now."

"What was it about?" I asked, trying to look as disinterested as possible.

"Yule Ball stuff," Ron muttered, reaching for the toast and jam.

Harry said, "We both are going to arrive in the Common Room after dinner today with dates."

"Wow. Good luck with that. Are you sure all the 'good ones' aren't gone?"

Ron looked up from his toast at me. "I'm sure there are a few," Harry said.

"Who are you planning on asking?" I asked.

"Probably a girl," Ron snickered.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I know of a few Ravenclaws that are available. I overheard them in the Library."

"Really?" Ron asked me. "When did you hear about that?"

"I was studying in the library yesterday," I said, my face turning red when I thought of who I met there.

"Studying _who_ would be more accurate," Ginny said, sitting down next to me. She looked bleary-eyed and her robes were a mess.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Hermione made a new friend in the library. That's all you need to know," Ginny said, smirking. I knew Ron's interest was snagged. He always had the same reaction when he found something interesting: he leaned into the conversation, his eyes were wide, and he had a slight frown on his face.

"Friend?" Ron asked. "What friend?"

I shook my head at him. "Don't worry about it."

His eyebrows furrowed at me. "Oh, come on, Hermione!"

"What?" I asked innocently. "I am allowed to have friends other than you, right?"

"But we have to know to make sure that…" Ron trailed off.

"To make sure of _what_ exactly?" I asked. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself! Now if you don't mind, I'm going to the library." I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the Great Hall.

When I arrived in the Library, it was mostly empty. I went to my favorite spot, which was a padded bench in the turret of the library. The sun was pouring in through the window and the sky was a clear blue. I set my bag down on the bench and sat down. I opened my bag and pulled out my Transfiguration essay. I was halfway through rereading it when I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Hello Herm-oh-ninny."

I jumped and turned around. "Hello!" I said to Victor Krum.

"How are you today?" he asked me.

"Oh, fine I suppose. You?"

"Very good. I don't haff class today."

"Lucky you." I glanced down at my watch which currently read 8:15. "I have class at 8:45. I have this essay due," I said gesturing at the essay in my hand.

"Vat is it about?"

"It has to do with transfiguring guinea fowl to guinea pigs."

He nodded and said, "Vas it a difficult essay?'

I shook my head no. "I had to make it shorter than I intended. I've been so busy lately."

Victor took my bag off of the bench I was sitting at and sat down. He looked intently into my eyes. "Vat haff you been so busy vith?"

"I've been tutoring a friend of mine in Potions class, helping Harry with his Tasks, and taking lots of classes. Plus, now there's all the hype about the Ball, too."

"Vell, ve don't haff to study vhen ve hang out tonight."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you are stressed, ve can do something else other than school, if you'd prefer."

I blushed. "What would we be doing?"

"Leaf that to me. It'll be a surprise."

"Okay," I said, blushing even more.

He stood up and offered me his hand, which I took. "I vill send you the details at dinner, yes?"

"Sure!"

He handed me my book bag and I said, "Thank you. I'll see you later then."

He took my hand and kissed it as I was about to leave. I tried to make myself stop from giggling, but it failed. His black eyes looked up at me in confusion. "Do they not do that here?"

"No. But I think that's why I like it. I guess chivalry isn't completely gone."

He smiled at that. "Vell haff a good day. See you later." He turned and walked out the Library.

I could have nearly skipped to Herbology. When I got to the right greenhouse, I sat between Ron and Harry. "Well _you_ seem happy," Ron muttered.

"Yep!" I said.

"What was with you this morning?" Ron asked. Harry nudged him as if to warn not to say anything.

"You were being nosy, that's all."

Ron opened his mouth is if to say something, but Harry punched him in the arm and Ron closed it. I rested my chin on my palm, trying to pay attention to Professor Sprout but failing miserably. I couldn't wait for later!


	5. My Knight in Shining Armor

"HERMIONE!" Ginny yelled from the Common Room. She started running up the stairs to me. However, I didn't know that from being in the girls' dormitory, so I opened the door and started running down the stairs. We collided midway and started to fall. The stairs turned into a slide and we slid safely down the stairs. We screamed as we went, and when we came to a halt, we burst out giggling. Harry and Ron were waiting at the bottom of the stairs and just stared at us in a heap, not saying anything.

Ginny got off of me and said, "Hey, wanna go to dinner?"

"Yeah," I said, sitting on the floor. Ron just stared at me as I tried to get up. _If Victor was here, HE would help me up_, I thought. We walked to the Great Hall and sat in our normal seats. I started to put mashed potatoes on my plate when a flying paper crane flew towards me. It landed right next to my fork. Ron reached for it, but I smacked his hand away. I unfolded it and read, "_Meet me at your favorite bench in the Library at 8 p.m._ – _V."_

I blushed and took a pencil out of my robes and wrote a quick reply. I folded it back up and let it rest in my palm. I blew on it and it fluttered away. Ron and Harry were looking at me as if I was hugging a mandrake. "What?" I asked.

"You just sent a note. You were blushing," Ron said, glaring at me.

"So? What's it to you?" I asked.

"It went towards the Slytherin table," he said.

"How do you know?" I asked defensively.

"Oh my gosh! You're going to the Ball with a Slytherin!" Ron burst out, looking triumphant.

Harry and I looked at him strangely. "If I would have been asked, I would have told you," I said.

"But…"

"What's with you and this whole 'ball' thing anyways? You've been acting strange about it," I said.

"Nothing," he snapped. "Go have fun with your Slytherin friend."

"Ron, I…"

"You what, Hermione?" Ron asked loudly.

"Enough both of you!" Harry burst out. "I'm sick of you two fighting all the time."

I stared at the ground. "Sorry, Harry," I said ashamedly.

"Well I'm not," Ron said.

"No surprise there," I muttered.

What I had said caught Ron's attention and he opened his mouth to say something when someone walking over to us distracted him. "It's Krum!" he said excitedly.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Excuse me. May I sit here?" Krum asked, gesturing to the spot across from me.

"Sure," I said smiling at him. It was hard to tell who was more excited that he was sitting by us. Ron was staring at him like he was the god of quidditch. I was smiling at him because I knew we were going to hang out on a date later.

Harry noticed me blushing, so he took out a spare bit of parchment and a pencil and wrote _"_**What's with you blushing? I didn't even know you could.**_"_ He threw the paper my way and I read it.

_Krum asked me on a date when I was in the Library this morning,_ I replied.

**I see. Does Ron know?**

_No. I don't think Ginny knows either._

**She'll kill you if you don't tell her. **

_Did you ask anyone to the Ball yet?_

**Yeah, I asked Cho Chang. She said no.**

_I know someone who wants to go with you. _

**Who?!**

_Ginny. You should totally ask her! Plus, I think Ron would much rather have her go with his best friend than some random guy, right?_

Harry took the parchment and put it in his pocket. He was rather deep in thought and didn't notice Ginny sit down right in front of him. Ron and Victor were sitting there talking about Quidditch stats when my mind started to wander. The two guys that I have ever really liked were sitting right in front of me. While Victor was wonderful and awesome, there seemed to be something missing. I just didn't know what. "So Krum, how to you like it here at Hogwarts?" I asked.

He turned towards me and said, "Very much, especially being in the presence of a beautiful young woman," he replied gently resting his hand on mine.

Ron noticed that and he furrowed his eyebrows together. Then he looked at me and he looked sad. He stared down at his plate and said, "I have a Charms essay to do, I'll see you later."

He pushed his plate away and got up. He was halfway towards the door when Ginny threw a roll at me. "What?" I asked.

"Go after him! Right now!" she said. "My brother looked to the point of tears, and that never happens. Go!"

I took my hand away from Victor's and followed him out the door. I caught up with him on the first staircase. He was sitting on the platform between two levels of stairs and was just staring morosely at nothing. "Ron, what's wrong?" I asked, kneeling beside him.

His blue eyes looked up at me. "Nothing," he said hoarsely.

"Oh, come on, Ron. I know that's a lie."

"Will I ever be good enough for you?" he asked me.

"What?"

"He's a world-famous Quidditch player, and I'm not. I'm just your best friend who can amount to anything!" He looked up at me. "Right?"

I shook my head no. "He may be all those things, but you're the one who saved me from the troll, remember? You were so brave. You were my knight in shining armor."

He stood up and I did the same. He seized my face with his hands and kissed me on the lips. Before I knew it, I was kissing him back until something in my mind screamed, "WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?" I pulled away and we both just stared at each other. I bolted up the stairs to the girls' dormitory and flopped on the bed.

I knew about three things right now. One, Ron just kissed me. Two, I was supposed to go on a "date" with Victor Krum. Three, they both fancied me and I didn't know what to do about it. Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, was fluttering around by Ginny's bed. I scribbled quickly on a piece of paper, "Emergency meeting ASAP!" tied to Pigwidgeon's leg and sent him on his way.

Five minutes, Ginny came up the stairs and through the door. She flopped on my bed next to me and said, "What happened?"

"Your brother just kissed me."

"WHAT!"

"I know. It's-…"

"It's totally awesome, that's what!" she said, smiling widely.

"No it's not. I'm supposed to go on a date with Victor tonight, but now I'm not sure if I want to go or not."

"Wait, what?"

"Victor asked me on a date this morning. I said I would. Here," I said, handing her the folded paper crane. Victor had slipped it back to me under the table when he sat by us at dinner. Ginny took it and unfolded it and read it.

"Oh wow. Do you know what you're gonna do?"

I heard the door squeak open and then shut. We both turned to look but there was no one there. I shook my head and Ginny said, "If Ron was to ask you right now, what would say?"

"That depends on how he asks me. If it seemed like he truly meant it, then I say yes just like that," I replied, snapping my fingers. "But Krum is such a gentleman. Ron's not."

"So? He just needs to polish up on his skills. I still am amazed he kissed you. He's never kissed anyone before."

"Then he needs to ask me before Monday. Otherwise, I'm going with Victor."

She nodded once. "I'll go inform him of this. When's your date with Krum?"

I glanced down at my watch which read 7:45. "It's in 15 minutes."

"Okay. I'm going to go talk to Harry. You need to get ready."

"I _am_ ready," I said.

"There is no way I'm letting you go on a date looking like that! I'll talk to Harry after you leave so I can at least do your hair."

I sighed. "Fine." I went over to the bathroom and Ginny followed me in. She waved her wand over my hair and my hair was woven into a braid. I refused to put on make-up, so she made me change what I was wearing. I walked out of the girls' dormitory in jeans and a sweater with my robes hanging over my arm.

Ron got up from the couch and said, "Hermione, wait!"


	6. Something Unexpected

"Hermione, wait!" Ron called.

I turned and Ron had gotten up and was rushing towards me. "What's up?" I asked, looking at the ground and blushing.

"I…um…" he stuttered.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Look…about the kiss-…"

"It's fine, Ron."

"No!" he said loudly. "I mean…"

"Look, Ron, I have to go. Say what you want to say now, because I have to be somewhere."

"With Krum?"

I blushed even more. "Yeah."

"Have fun with your famous Quidditch player boyfriend," he sneered.

"He's not my boyfriend." I paused for a second and sighed. "Why do we always do this?" I asked him.

"Do what?" he asked waspishly.

"Every time we've talked about the Ball we argue about things. You get overly annoyed whenever any boy comes near me, and every time I have asked you about who you want to take you change the subject. What is going on with you!"

"I don't know!" he yelled. "It's hard to explain…" he trailed off.

"Maybe you should try," I snapped.

"Because if I try it's going to come out wrong and you'll laugh at me 'cause I'm just a loser!"

"You're not a loser!"

"Well I'm nothing compared to Krum, am I?" Ron asked me sullenly.

"What?" I asked, shocked. "What possibly ever gave you that idea?"

"Never mind," he snapped. "I told you it wouldn't make sense."

"Good luck with that then. I'm leaving," I said, turning to leave out the door. I was out the door and on my way to the Library when I got the sense that someone was following me. I thought I heard footsteps other than mine, but every time I turned around to look, no one was there. I shook my head and kept walking. When I arrived at the Library I found my favorite bench and sat down. I heard footsteps coming and stop. I looked behind me and caught a glimpse of someone's tennis shoes. They looked like Ron's, but I wasn't sure. I felt a tap on my shoulder, so I turned to look. "Hello, Herm-oh-ninny," Krum said.

"Hello!" I said.

He sat down on the bench next to me and said, "Let's go! I haff a vonderful evening planned."

"Alright," I said standing up. He stood up and followed me out the door. "So where are we going?"

"May I escort you down to the Quidditch Pitch?" he asked, holding out his arm for me to take.

"You may," I said, placing my hand on his arm. When we got to the Quidditch Pitch, we sat down on one of the benches. "So…" he started.

"Yes?" I asked.

"How vas your day?" he asked me.

I sighed. "Today was…complicated."

"Vat do you mean 'complicated'?"

"It has to do with my friend, Ron."

"The red haired boy who I vas talking to at dinner?"

I nodded. "We've been best friends since our first year. He saved me from a troll that had wandered in on Halloween. And today, after dinner, he kissed me. I mean, I know he likes me, I heard him say so myself. And now I'm hanging out with you and I…" I trailed off. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking about this to you."

"Vhy not? I'm here to listen," he said leaning in close.

I thought this was what I wanted. I had this gorgeous, famous Quidditch player hanging on my every word. But something was off. While I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Krum lean in very close to my face. He gently pulled my face to his and he kissed me. I proceeded to the logical thing and I panicked. I pushed him away as hard as I could and stared him. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Kissing you, of course," he said, with a smirk on his face.

"Why?" I asked, clearly disgusted at what he did.

"Because you are beautiful," he said, starting to look confused.

"Well, don't do it again," I said. An awkward silence settled in. There was something wrong with that kiss. It didn't feel like when Ron kissed me on the stairs after dinner. It wasn't the same. It felt completely wrong and out of place. "I have to go," I said, standing up suddenly.

"Vas it because I kissed you?" he asked, staring at the ground.

I didn't say anything, and i just stood there. He wouldn't even look at me. "Look, I'm sorry. I just realized something very important, and I have to go. Thank you very much for this lovely evening," He scooted over and let me through.

I knew it was wrong to just end something like that. Getting up and saying I had to leave right after he kissed me was horrible. He probably felt awful. The only thing I was fairly certain of was how I felt about Ron. I was absolutely certain that I really liked him. I wanted to go to the Ball with him, and no one else. I started running the minute I got back into Hogwarts. I gave the Fat Lady the password and she let me in. I skidded to a halt when I saw Ron sitting on the couch in the front of the fire.


	7. Hogwarts Is a Magical Place

"Ron, I need to talk to you," I said breathlessly.

He grunted. Of course he wasn't going to make this easy. "It's important," I said.

"Fine. What could you possibly want to talk to me about?" he asked, glaring into the fire

I sat down on the couch next to him and said, "What happened when you kissed me?" I asked him.

He shrugged and said nothing. "Ron, I really need to know."

"Dunno."

I sighed and said, "Oh honestly. If you don't want to talk about it, then fine." I stood up to leave and he said, "Wait."

"What?" I said.

"I kissed you because…I wanted to."

"What?" I asked, holding my breath until he answered.

"I wanted to and I just…did." I raised my eyebrows and he said, "Look, I can't explain what happened. I just - …"

I sat down on the couch again, leaning in close. "Yes?" I breathed.

He looked at the ground again. "I don't understand. We've been friends for a while now, and ever since this summer it seems like everything has changed."

I smiled. "Ron, look at me." He did. "I know exactly what you mean."

"You do?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Things changed much earlier for me though."

He leaned in close. "When?"

I stared at my hands in my lap. "The first time I saw you on the Hogwarts Express, actually. Then you saved me from the troll on Halloween and… here we are."

"Huh," he said. _After all that I told him, all he could say was "huh"? "_Then why did you go on a date tonight?"

"It wasn't necessarily a date," I said. "Besides, I left after 10 minutes."

Ron furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion. "Why?"

"He kissed me and it got awkward."

He looked at me incredulously. "But you were with Krum!"

"Yeah, but there was one piece of the puzzle that was missing."

"What?" he asked, a blush rising in his freckled face.

"It wasn't you," I said, blushing and staring at the ground..

His jaw nearly fell to the floor. "What? You'd rather be with me than with some Quidditch player? He could buy all the books you've ever wanted." I shrugged in response, and he raised his eyebrows at me. "Seriously?" he asked incredulously.

I blushed and said, "Yeah." I noticed that Harry's invisibility cloak was bunched up at the end of the couch. "By the way, you can't even say you don't care anymore about my hanging out with other guys."

"What?" he asked.

"Unless your shoes decided to walk around the castle by themselves, I know you followed me into the Library."

"Hogwarts is a magical place," he muttered. I raised my eyebrows to say, _Do you honestly think I'm going to buy that?_ He sighed and said, "I thought I could convince you not to go with Krum, but he was there right away."

"I kinda figured. I made my decision after I saw your tennis shoes in the Library."

"Oh?" Ron asked, hope lighting up in his eyes.

"Yeah. It was really awkward when he kissed me."

He nodded. "So now what?" we asked at the same time.

We both laughed nervously. Ron swallowed and said, "Well, for starters, wanna go to the ball with me?"

A smile lit up my face and nearly split it in two. "Of course!"


	8. The Ball

"HERMIONE, HURRY UP!" Ginny yelled, pounding on the bathroom door. "We have to meet the guys downstairs in ten minutes and I still need to put my make-up on!"

I nudged the door open with my butt as I was finishing up straightening my hair. Ginny bustled in behind me and took the mirror next to me, purple make-up bag in hand. As I finished, my hair was relatively less bushy, but it still wasn't quite how I wanted it to be. "Gin, my hair is a disaster," I whined.

After she finished applying her make-up, she asked, "Hair ties?" I handed them back to her. "Bobby pins?" Again, I handed them back to her, like a nurse handing a surgeon tools during a surgery. Twenty bobby pins later and a bit of magic to hold my hair up, I was officially ready to go, as was Ginny. "Final check!" she said.

She spun around slowly and I checked to make sure everything was in place. Her dress was emerald green, and strapless. There were green flowers that went around the top of her dress and went in a trail down to her waist. The top part of the dress was fitted while from the waist down of her dress it flared out. She was wearing one-inch black heels to keep the dress from dragging on the ground. She also had a black sweater in her arms in case she got cold. Her hair was straightened and was kept back with a black jeweled headband. "Well?" she asked.

"You look awesome, Gin. Next!" I said, starting to spin slowly. I was wearing a strapless sky blue dress. The top was closely fitted and had a black bow around the waist. From there it flowed down about three inches past my knee. I was also wearing black ballet flats. My hair was up in a fancy bun and I had a few strands falling from it. I was planning on wearing a necklace, but it broke an hour before I was going to get ready. I wore crystal studs for earrings. "You look awesome, too," Ginny said. "Let's go!"

We opened the door to the Common Room and started to walk down the steps. Ginny had to hold the bottom of her dress up a bit so she didn't trip and fall down the stairs. Harry and Ron were waiting for us and were talking about Quidditch. Their conversation ceased when they saw us come down the stairs. "Hey guys," I said, blushing.

Ron was wearing black dress robes and a light blue bowtie. Harry also had black dress robes and an emerald green tie. Ron had a small box in his hand. "This is for you," he said, turning as red as the maroon tapestries in the Common Room. I opened it and there was a necklace in it. There was a silver snitch charm on it. "Thanks, Ron!"

"I know you don't like Quidditch, but I heard your necklace broke and…" he trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Can you put it on me?" I asked, taking it out of the box. Once he put it on, I kissed him on the cheek. "Ready?" Ginny asked us.

Ron offered me his arm and I took it. I noticed Ginny had on a corsage with a white lily in the middle. We walked down to the Great Hall both Ginny and I hanging on to our date's arm. "I have to be in a different area because I'm a champion. I have to dance first," Harry said, grimacing.

"Well, you'll be dancing with me. Therefore, it will be awesome," Ginny told him.

They walked up to McGonagall and left us alone. "You look beautiful, Hermione," he said.

I blushed. "Thanks, Ron."

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Weasley and his Mudblood girlfriend," Malfoy sneered, strutting towards us. "Where'd you get that stupid bowtie? You look like _such_ a nerd."

Ron pulled out his wand, seized Malfoy by the lapels of his dress robes and shoved him against the wall. "Don't you _ever_ call her that again!"

"Or what?" Malfoy asked. Ron was silent for a moment. "That's what I thought, Weasley. You _can't _do anything to me because you're too-…"

A flash of light made everyone in the room stop talking. There was a naked mole rat in the place of where Malfoy once stood. There was a _bang_ and Malfoy was back to normal looking horrified. "That's what you get for calling my girlfriend that. And you know what else, Malfoy? Bowties are cool." He turned away from him and walked over towards me. "Sorry about that," he said.

I kissed him on the lips. "That was wonderful. I knew I picked the right guy."

He smiled wide at that. The doors opened and we were allowed to enter. The Great Hall had been transformed into a beautiful ballroom. Mirrors lined the walls of the Great Hall, and there was frost lining the edges of them. The floor was white and there was an ice sculpture of the Hogwarts castle in the corner of room. There was a magnificently large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling right over the dance floor. There were also circular tables with white linen on top of them. Once most of the couples were inside, the doors were shut and McGonagall stood up on a chair. "Attention everyone. In a few moments, the champions will enter. They have the first dance. After the first song, you may join them."

She got down from the chair and talking erupted immediately. "Let's grab a spot near the dance floor. I can't wait to see Harry dancing!" I said in Ron's ear. He smiled and nodded, taking my hand and leading me that way. It was hard to maneuver through the crowd, but Ron never let go of my hand. Plus, he was tall, so it was impossible to lose him in the crowd. Once we got in our spot, I stood on my tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and smiled down at me. Suddenly the doors burst open and all the champions walked in with their dates. Harry and Ginny were the last couple to enter. When they found a spot on the dance floor, Harry looked like he facing another dragon. When the music started, Harry looked confused, so Ginny took the lead. Ron leaned over to me and said, "You know, I thought it was going to be awkward with Ginny going out with my best friend. But I guess it would be weird if it was anyone else."

"I said that exact same thing to him when he didn't know who to ask," I said.

The song ended and another slow song started. I pulled Ron out to the dance floor. He took my hand in his and spun me around a few times. Then he pulled me close and was humming in my ear. We jerked apart when Ron got tapped on the shoulder. "Excuse me, may I haff a word?" Krum asked.

Ron hesitated, but I smiled up at him. "It's fine. I'll be right back."

Krum had one hand on my waist and held my hand. I had one hand on his shoulders and he had my other hand. "What's up?" I asked.

"You look beautiful tonight," he said.

"Thank you. I wanted to apologize for leaving you on the Quidditch Pitch right after you kissed me. That wasn't right of me. But I must thank you for that. I know this is going to sound horrible, but if you hadn't kissed me, I never would have…" I trailed off.

"You never vould have realized how you felt about your red-haired friend," he finished for me.

I looked down and said, "Yeah."

"That's okay." He took his hand away and held out one for me to shake. "Friends?" he asked.

I shook it and said, "Friends."

"Now go back to your red-haired friend. He is vatching me like a hawk."

I smiled and walked over to Ron. He sighed in relief when I came back. "What?" I asked. He shrugged and didn't say anything. He took his hands in mine as we started dancing again. "Krum said that you were watching us like a hawk."

"Sorry. I guess I'm a bit protective," he said.

"It would be weird if you weren't," I replied smiling up and him.

"I'm the luckiest guy here," Ron said. I looked up at him questioningly. "I'm here with you," he said, kissing me on the lips.

A/N: Thank you so much for your helpful and positive reviews :)


End file.
